Local Plan to be examined at hearing in Shelf

Local Plan to be examined at hearing in Shelf

THE first stage of examination hearings into Calderdale’s Local Plan are set to begin in Shelf next week over six days.

Hearings into the plan, which was sent to the Secretary of State James Brokenshire for consideration in January, are scheduled to start at Shelf Village Hall, Halifax Road, from 10am on June 26.

Headed by Inspector Katie Child, they hearings into the planning blueprint for the district will continue until July 5.

The stage one hearings will consider matters, such as vision and strategy, housing and employment need, and supply and travellers.

The plan, which will shape where thousands of homes and businesses are likely to be built or developed in Calderdale over a 15-year period, has been fiercely argued with the Conservative group in particular expressing concerns especially over the prospect of two “Garden Suburbs” in the Brighouse area.

The Local Plan requires the council to identify sites for around 9,500 new homes in the borough by 2032 – the 12,600 requirement less sites which have already been given planning permission but have not yet been developed.

Of the six matters to be discussed at the public hearings, matter one will consider legal and procedural matters while the second matter will take in vision, objectives and overall strategy.

The draft timetable estimates these will be discussed and concluded on the first day of the hearings.

Matter three will see the hearing consider housing need, examining whether the identified housing requirement of 12,600 dwellings between 2018 and 2033 – 840 per year – is justified and consistent with national policy, and this will take place on the second day - June 27.

On June 28, the fourth matter concerning housing supply, will be considered, asking if the plan identifies sufficient land to enable the housing requirement of 12,600 dwellings to be delivered over the plan period.

When first stage hearings continue on Wednesday, July 3, that day is set aside for the inspector to make site visits.

Matter five – considering employment need and supply – is scheduled for July 4, and will examine whether it sets out a positively prepared strategy for delivering employment growth and development which is justified, effective and consistent with national policy.

Finally, on sixth day, July 5, the morning of the hearing will consider matter six, relating to travellers.

The second stage hearings will then cover the spatial development strategy, the soundness of individual site allocations and policy matters and could provisionally be from Autumn 2019 onwards.

Exact timescales and the venue for the second stage of the hearings will be decided at a later date.

During the examination all correspondence will be loaded onto the council’s website at calderdale.gov.uk for members of the public to view.

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